Yellowstone National Park

By: Tim DeSimone

Yellowstone National Park

By: Tim DeSimone

History:

On March 1st, 1872, Ulysses Grant made Yellowstone the first national park. In 1886, Yellowstone came under military jurisdiction to stop opportunists from destroying it. In 1894, congress passed a law that made it illegal to kill wildlife in Yellowstone. This caused Yellowstone to become more like a national park and have more animals within its borders. In 1916, the National Park service was put in place at Yellowstone. In 1988, massive forest fires burnt 1.4 million acres of Yellowstone. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced. Yellowstone has changed throughout history a lot. At first it was a park that had no rules and was expensive. Now, it is less expensive and has rules against killing animals and destroying the park. The park is more safe, preserved, and has more nature than it did before.

Climate

Winter - 0-20 Fahrenheit during the day and subzero temperatures in the night. About 150 inches of snow per year.

Spring and Fall - Daytime temperatures 30-60 Fahrenheit and nighttime temperatures in the teens. Weather has lots of sudden changes and snow is common.

In the last 50 years, Yellowstone has gotten warmer and growing season has grown over 30 days longer. Climate has changed to be warmer and for the warm seasons to last longer.

Activities

When Yellowstone first opened there were no planned activities or rangers to guide you through the park. You were basically on your own. After 1916, when the National Park Service was put in place at Yellowstone, rangers were stained at Yellowstone. Now they have activities that were not there before because of the rangers. Some activities they have now that they did not have before are

-Back country camping and hiking

-Boating

-Ranger explore activities

-Woods camping

-Skiing and snowshoeing

-Fishing

-Tours (Geysers, Land, Water)

-Horse and llama riding

-Campfire programs

-Wildlife viewing

The activities at Yellowstone have changed because before there were no planned activities and now there are ranger led, organized activities.

Fun Facts

-Yellowstone has about 300 active geysers.

-Yellowstone is the only active super volcano on land.

-Yellowstone is bigger than Delaware and Rhode Island COMBINED!

-The lowest temperature recorded at Yellowstone was -66 degrees Fahrenheit.

-96% percent of the park is in Wyoming, 3% is in Montana, and 1% is in Idaho.

Association with Native Americans

Native Americans used Yellowstone as their homes, hunting grounds, and transportation routes. The Shoshone, Bannock, Nez Perce, Flathead, Crow, and Cheyenne tribes used the flat areas for campsites because they had lots of wildlife and were good for hunting. Additionally, they used the hot springs for cooking and preparing hides. Also, the native Americans used Obsidian Cliff, which is located in Yellowstone, to gather obsidian for tools. They also used the Bannock Trail in the park to travel to areas with buffalo (the buffalo had gone extinct in their homeland) and to transport attack parties in times of war. When Yellowstone National Park opened in 1872, Native Americans were driven out of the park. But they had been seen there by tourist as late as the 1900's.